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Vocalist not learning lyrics
- Thread starter gotly
- Start date
Personally, I cannot remember the lyrics of the songs I write myself, lol. Maybe if I did it a lot more, I would progress. But eventually plan on doing some acoustic outings at open mics and maybe more. Unfortunately, I will be relying on my own charts because I am also learning to sing and play at the same time, something else I have had a lit of difficulty with but am growing into being able to do that more and more. I only have so much time to dedicate to it being in a regular band and keeping up with that. I say this only to say that everyone has limits, and sometimes time limits are a part of the reason along with natural ability.
Oh, and one of our singers relies on a cell phone for lyric assistance, difference is she isn't glued to during the performance most of the time, she just uses it for quick reference.
Oh, and one of our singers relies on a cell phone for lyric assistance, difference is she isn't glued to during the performance most of the time, she just uses it for quick reference.
Update: It got worse. The singer got super drink/high at a restaurant gig, forgot all the lyrics, drummer and singer yelled at each other a lot and the band dissolved. Lesson learned.
A lot of pro level performers have teleprompters that look like monitors on stage!
Elvis could never be bothered to learn lyrics.
He didn't even try to hide it.
He'd just pull out the old cheat sheet on stage.
I guess they weren't paying him enough to learn the words to all those simple songs.
He didn't even try to hide it.
He'd just pull out the old cheat sheet on stage.
I guess they weren't paying him enough to learn the words to all those simple songs.
“The band is awesome. Good music, great vibes/hangs, they are really well connected so we get a ton of shows…”
Obviously it doesn’t bother the audience. Some people just have a hard time memorizing lyrics. Most people would kill to be in a band like that, not looking for things to complain about. If the new guy in my own band told me I needed to stop using cheat sheets, he’d be the ex new guy. Best advice - chill out.
Obviously it doesn’t bother the audience. Some people just have a hard time memorizing lyrics. Most people would kill to be in a band like that, not looking for things to complain about. If the new guy in my own band told me I needed to stop using cheat sheets, he’d be the ex new guy. Best advice - chill out.
Mick Jagger had something like this during the Voodoo Lounge tour. That was 30+ years ago.
Don't sweat the singer having something giving him the lyrics, just make sure he's not focused on it.
It may be that he'd rather have a cue to look at than completely derail if he blanks out. I'm assuming that he's not staring at the screen cause that's not good.
If you miss a note on an instrument, you recover very quickly and most of the audience won't know anything happened. If you blank out on the beginning of a verse, you're gonna drop a verse or worse. That's a completely different thing, and everyone will notice.
I *try* to memorize lyrics, and some people are great at it, but it takes me quite a while to be %100. New songs (especially when playing at the same time) are very risky if you don't have the safety net of a tablet with lyrics. I'd rather have people see the tablet than be without and completely botch a verse of a song that people are in to.
Main drawback is I hate that moment where I have to scroll down on the tablet between songs. I wish there was a way to do it with a pedal or something.
If you miss a note on an instrument, you recover very quickly and most of the audience won't know anything happened. If you blank out on the beginning of a verse, you're gonna drop a verse or worse. That's a completely different thing, and everyone will notice.
I *try* to memorize lyrics, and some people are great at it, but it takes me quite a while to be %100. New songs (especially when playing at the same time) are very risky if you don't have the safety net of a tablet with lyrics. I'd rather have people see the tablet than be without and completely botch a verse of a song that people are in to.
Main drawback is I hate that moment where I have to scroll down on the tablet between songs. I wish there was a way to do it with a pedal or something.
Wow. Your band had a situation occur so blatant that it created an unavoidably forgone conclusion.
Consider yourself lucky that it didn't continue to drag out.
Just curious, was the vocalist the one who booked the gigs?
There are pedals for tablets available everywhere. Check that out. Some are called Page Turners.
I retain information much better long-term if I take the time write it out by hand. It just sinks in deeper.
Does OP see a noticeable difference in how the singer delivers covers vs. originals? It's a bad look when singers try to sing as they read off the iPad... usually they stop projecting to the audience and the delivery is lifeless. If the singer just has the iPad for emergency recall and still delivers the song with conviction, I'd be more willing to let it slide.
My singer uses an iPad even thought he has excellent recall and really doesn't need it. His excuse is "I'm never quite sure when the gummies are going to kick in."
Does OP see a noticeable difference in how the singer delivers covers vs. originals? It's a bad look when singers try to sing as they read off the iPad... usually they stop projecting to the audience and the delivery is lifeless. If the singer just has the iPad for emergency recall and still delivers the song with conviction, I'd be more willing to let it slide.
My singer uses an iPad even thought he has excellent recall and really doesn't need it. His excuse is "I'm never quite sure when the gummies are going to kick in."
